An effort was launched today to ban Arizona governments and universities from considering race, sex, color, ethnicity and national origin in hiring and other decisions.

The affirmative action initiative would prohibit everything from government contracting that gives preference to minority-owned businesses to public universities that consider race in student admissions. Private businesses would be unaffected.

Supporters call their action measure the Arizona Civil Rights Initiative, and are targeting the November 2008 election. The initiative would amend the state Constitution, so supporters will need to collect 230,047 valid signatures in order to get the proposal on the ballot.

The effort is led by Ward Connerly, a former University of California regent who has successfully shepherded similar measures in California, Washington and Michigan. Connerly, who is Black, said government shouldn't be in the practice of offering preferences based upon appearance.

"My skin shouldn't matter to you," he told onlookers who gathered at the Capitol for the announcement. "Yours doesn't matter to me."

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas is serving as honorary chairman of the initiative. He argued that government-sponsored affirmative action has outlived its usefulness, and has become something it was never intended.

Said Thomas, "These programs have grown into something that divides us, a system of inherited preferences inconsistent with the American dream."

The initiative met immediate resistance, however.

Rep. Ben Miranda, D-Phoenix, questioned whether Connerly has brought his movement to Arizona to capitalize on racial unrest brought by fears about illegal immigration. And Rep. Chad Campbell, D-Phoenix, called the measure "just another divisive initiative."

He said it's a distraction from more pressing matters, such as immigration, growth, water supply and education, and added, "I haven't heard from a single constituent raising this initiative (as an issue)."

Connerly plans to also place his initiative on the 2008 ballot in Colorado, Missouri, Oklahoma and at least one other state he wouldn't disclose. He brushed aside concerns that the campaign will enflame racial tensions.

"Racial tensions are already there," he said. "Don't blame us for that. Don't blame us for something that already exists."

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